Turmeric, a pungent-tasting spice in the ginger family, has been in India for several centuries, if not millennia. Its powdered form mixed with milk, Haldi doodh, has been and remains a quick remedy for a sore throat or fever.
The West is just now waking up to the health benefits of this bright yellow spice, found in almost every Indian household, mixing it with almond, cashew with cold-pressed turmeric juice.
RIP Haldi and Milkhttps://t.co/5phBPfePgh
— Anup Kaphle (@AnupKaphle) May 31, 2016
The Guardian's Saba Imtiaz named it 2016's drink of choice as cafes from San Francisco to Australia's Sydney began selling this super drink.
Asked to comment on the trending turmeric milk, Choodamani Narayanan, an 86-year-old food and home-remedy expert, told Sputnik news: "We've been using turmeric for both herbal and medical purposes for several centuries in India. Now the West has its eye on this fascinating spice. Earlier the US tried to kidnap other Indian traditions such as tulsi, neem, yoga and this turmeric adds to this precious list."
"@Infinityfoodsk: We now sell 'golden milk' — come and get a cup of caffeine free turmeric goodness today:) pic.twitter.com/xXGvrIz9on"
— Restaurants Brighton (@EatBrighton) May 30, 2016
Experts say turmeric is found in scriptures as a medicinal herb or a flavoring agent dating back to at least 5,000 years. The spice is found in all the Indian medical schools of thought such as Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha.
Another indication of the rising popularity of turmeric in the western world is the sharp 300% jump in Google searches for turmeric in the past five years. In fact, the search has risen 56% from November 2015 to January 2016, as per the latest report published by the search engine in April.
Veteran of @SiloBrighton & @ProBaristas, and today on our bar: Xav churning this potion: turmeric, ginger, oat milk. pic.twitter.com/IwwYt3R6Tg
— Florence Road Market (@FloRoadMarket) May 28, 2016
People who so far sneered at and made fun of 'haldi wala doodh' will now buy over priced Turmeric Latte as it's… https://t.co/lrhKvva7ym
— Real Zaid Hamid (@RealZaidHamid_) May 24, 2016
Very excited for this to reach Starbucks so they can ruin it as comprehensively as they have "Chai tea". https://t.co/qZ1vmwyWcI
— Unplanned Adulthood (@twyodor) May 23, 2016
